It's almost over

If it hadn’t been for the tardy appearance of their offense Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens might have knocked off the Browns by more than a couple of touchdowns Sunday in their home finale.

It took the better part of the first two quarters before the Ravens, who clinched home field advantage throughout the playoffs, unlocked their offense in the 31-15 victory, a margin that in no way reflected their dominance in this one.

The loss dropped the Browns to 6-9 and eliminated them from the postseason, as if they really had a shot after a poor showing in the first half of the season. It moved head coach Freddie Kitchens a little closer to what many hope is his departure date.

Avenging the how-in-the-world-did-that-happen 40-25 loss to the Browns at home in week four, the Ravens’ offense struggled in their first four possessions against a surprisingly feisty Cleveland defense.

That patched-up defense forced two punts, a takeover on downs and the first Baltimore turnover in the first quarter all season when quarterback Lamar Jackson and Mark Ingram missed connections on a handoff, defensive end Porter Gustin recovered the fumble.

Nine plays, 45 yards and three costly Baltimore penalties later, Baker Mayfield hooked up with Demetrius Harris from the one-yard line to give the Browns their only lead of the afternoon at 6-0. Two of the flags were tossed on fourth down, the other on third down.

Referee Alex Kemp’s crew tried to help the Browns with yellow laundry in key situations, five of the Browns’ 17 first downs the result of penalties. It was that kind of afternoon for the stodgy Cleveland offense.

After being shut out and held to just 120 yards on the first four series, the vaunted Ravens offense, averaging 37 points a game in the last seven games, suddenly – and impressively – Rip Van Winkled with 110 seconds remaining in the first half and pounced.

And just like that, the visitors took not only a 14-6 lead, but control of the game on both sides of the football. It happened so quickly, many fans may have missed the momentum switch.

It took the Ravens two plays and 32 seconds to move the ball 63 yards, tight end Mark Andrews taking advantage of a blown coverage to score with ridiculous ease on the back end of a 39-yard Jackson strike.

At that point, heading into the locker room down by only a point against the National Football League’s best team seemed to be the prudent move at the time. That’s not what went through the puzzling mind of Kitchens.

Oh no, the Cleveland playcaller wanted more even though his offense, the one he stubbornly insists on directing on the field, was hitting and missing with missing taking the lead as the game wore on. Why there were 78 seconds left to inflict some more damage., he must have thought.

So he dialed up three pass plays with a quarterback who was struggling instead of running out the clock, Three incomplete passes and a meager 23 seconds later, the Ravens had the ball again, this time 75 yards from the Cleveland goal line.

This time, it took Jackson 46 seconds of the 55 remaining to matriculate down the field, connecting once again with Andrews – one of Mayfield’s favorite receivers at Oklahoma – from 14 yards out six plays later.

It took Jackson & Co. just 101 seconds to move the football 138 total yards, throw a pair of touchdown passes and thoroughly demoralize a team, Once he got his rhythm with his feet and arm, there was no stopping him.

The Cleveland defense was baffled as the Ravens’ offense scored on every possession in the second half except the last, which was executed in victory formation.

Jackson ran for 103 yards to lead the Ravens in that department, many of them designed runs against a defense not nearly as fast and quick. Through the air, he threw for 238 more yards and three touchdowns, the third to Ingram.

His ability to control the pace of the game resulted in a gassed Cleveland defense in the second half. The Ravens owned the ball for 21½ of the half’s 30 minutes and ran 40 plays to Cleveland’s 22. Some people call that total dominance.

The Browns somewhat miraculously actually narrowed the margin to 24-15 midway through the fourth quarter with a critical penalty flag again affecting the drive.

After veteran Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith was flagged for grabbing Odell Beckham Jr.’s facemask on a fourth-and-goal from the Baltimore 6, Mayfield connected with OBJ on a three-yard fade on the next p[lay,

Instead of kicking the extra point and keeping it a one-possession difference, Kitchens mystifyingly opted for a two-point attempt. Failing to do so kept it a two-possession game. Considering the way the defense was playing at the time, though, it probably could be considered moot in retrospect.

The Browns were a little more engaged against the Ravens overall than they were last week against the Arizona Cardinals, which isn’t saying much since they were almost totally disengaged in the desert.

The Ravens’ defense was clearly determined to shut down Nick Chubb, who burned them in the earlier game for a season-high 165 yards and three touchdowns. The running back never got untracked and was held to a season-low 45 yards.

All that’s left now is the season-ender down in Cincinnati next Sunday against the one-victory Bengals. The dagger on the 2019 season that was plunged even deeper by the Ravens still has a little room left near the hilt.

Even if that dagger does not move in Cincinnati, 7-9 is not the record a vast majority of Browns Nation expected at this juncture of the schedule. But if it does move, a distasteful 6-10 could just about ensure a punched ticket out of town for a certain head coach.